Pipe-hook tongs



July 17, 1923- L. S. HAMER PIPE HOOK norms Filed April 21. 1921fizz/92%; Ida/2d i5. Era/7267',

Patented July 17, 1923,

.1 TATES 1,462,037 PATENT OFFIQE;

LELAND s. rrnivrna, or FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, essronon or ONE-HALF T0wIL LIAM WEBSTER wILsoN, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PIPE-HOOK TONGS.

Application filed April 21, 1921. Serial No. 463,423.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LELAND S. HAMER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fullerton, in the county of Orange and State 'of California,have invented new and usefultools, and specifically to a tool comprisinga struction and operation will be explainedin connection with such work,although itsis to be understood as not limited to such.

In the drilling and operation of oil wells it is frequently necessary topull the casing or pipe from the bore, for various reasons;

this being done by means of a cable passing over a sheave at the top ofthe derrick, one end of which is secured to a winding drum while theopposite end carries an adjustable device, termed the elevator, which isadapted to be removably secured to the top end of the pipe section beingpulled. The

pipe or casing is ordinarily pulled. and disconnected in eighty footlengths or stands, and stood on end on the derrick floor, in position tobe again put in the bore. A piece of timber, termed the finger ismounted upon one of the derrick girts, adjacent the top of the derrick,and extends inwardly at an angle with this girt across one corner of thestructure, and back of which the top ends of the pipe sections or standsare placed to hold them in standing position in this corner of thederrick structure. During the pulling operation a workman stands on thederrick structure, near its top, to guide and bring; the pipe standsback of the finger and to release the elevator therefrom preparatory" toits being lowered for attachment to an other section.

The type of elevator most commonly used comprises a collar portionhaving a hinged section on one side, by means of'which it is removablysecured about the pipe, below one of the pipe collars. Bails, pivotallyattached to this collar, extend upwardly from opposite sides thereof,and the cable'is passed through these bails and secured uponitself.After the pipe drawn from the bore has been moved into position andstood upon the derrick floor, the lifting cable is slackened and theelevator slides down the pipe a short distance, where it is removed bythe workman above referred to. If in settingthe pipe it is turned so aslackening of the lifting cable will permit the bails to fall on thesame side of the pipe as the opening section of the collar, the elevatorcannot be removed without again drawing it'to the top of the Therefore,before resting upon the derrick floor the pipe must be so turned thatthe elevator bails will fall uponthe side oppositethe collar opening;and, as these plpes are generally covered with oil it is very diflicultfor the workman stationed upon. the derrick to grip the pipe with onehand to turn it, especiallyv as he must hold on to the derrick with'theother hand while performing this work. Furthermore, it is notpracticable to attempt to perform this function from the derrick floor.

Having in mind the aforementioned difiiculties, I have provided a tool,adapted to be operated with one hand while the workman is holding on tothe derrick with the other, whereby he may easily and conveniently gripthe pipe to bring it to proper position back of the finger, and also toaxially rotate it in either direction, while suspended,'to bring theelevator into proper position for releasement.

My invention is characterized by (1) a tool which is simple, durable andinexpensive to manufacture; (2) which is arranged to be easily andquickly attached to andvdetached from the pipe; and (3 which may beoperated by one hand. i

'made therein to the accompanyingdrawings,

forming part thereof, and in which 1,

s Fig. 1 is a plan view-of the device'show- 'ing it adjusted to a, pipesection and in gripping position to rotate the pipe in one direction;Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 only showingthe device in position togrip the pipe and turn it in another direction; Fig. 3

is a fragmentary view similar to Figs. land 2, parts being shown insection; Fig. 1 is a front view o fthe device; and Fig. 5 is a rear viewthereof.

Referring now to the drawings the device comprises essentially arelatively stationary handle member 10' on which a relatively movablepipe embracing member 11 is pivotally mounted. The member 10 ispreferably constructed of fiat metal, and preferably bent to theconfiguration shown to form a handle 12, and terminating in a pair oiparallelspaced portions 13; although any other type of constructionwhich will accomplish my purpose may be used. In plan the portion 10 maybe curved as shown, or if preferred it may be straight or even curvedslightly in the opposite direction.

The portion 11 is preferably constructed of flat metal and of theconfiguration shown, being substantially circularnand of alength toextend around the pipe-14 slightly more than half way. The free end 15,of the member 11, is provided with teeth 16 onits inner edge, whichteeth are adapted to engage the periphery of the pipe 14; and in orderthat they will cooperate with other elements of the device in turningthe pipe in either direction, these teeth are preferably formed toextend radial of the periphery ofthe pipe when in contact therewith.

The member 11 is pivotally secured to the member 10, by means of a boltor pin 17, thefportion 11 extending in a plane between and parallel withthe portions 13 of the member 10, .and the bolt 17 passing throughregistering apertures in all three members. 1

An extension 18 is formed on the pivotal end 19 of the member 11; thisportion having' an arcuate slot 20 concentric with the pivot pin17,-through which a bolt 21carried by lugs 22 formedon the memebrsl3-extends. The function of this bolt is to limit the pivotal movementof the portion ll relative to the portion 10.

Teeth 23 and 2 1 are cut in the inner edges of the parallel members 13,on either side of the pivot pin 17; these teeth being adapted toalternately engage the periphery of the pipe 14, in cooperation with theteeth 16, when-the portion 10 is moved to the right or left to rotatethepipe. It will be noted that the teeth 23 extend in one direction whilethe teeth 2 1 extend in the fopposite direction; the reason for thisbeing that when it is desired to turn the pipe in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, th'e handle 10 is moved in thedirection indicated by the arrow thereon and the teeth 24 brought intoengagement with the periphery of the pipe 14:; this movement U clam-pingthe member 11 about the pipe and likewise bringing the teeth 16 intoengage- ;ment with its periphery. Continued move ment of the handle 10in the direction indicated will rotate the pipe. When it is desired torotate the pipe in the opposite. direction as indicated by the arrow inFig. 2, the handle 10 is moved in thedirection indicated by the arrowthereon, and the teeth 2-3 similarly brought into engagement with itsperiphery; which, in conjunction with the teeth 16, will grip the pipesuifioiently to cause this rotation on continued movement 01 the handle10 in the direction indicated.

Preferably the portion 11 is formed in a substantial portion of a circleonly slightly larger than the diameter of-the pipe 1%, to obviateunnecessary play and relative move ment between the members; and it isdesired that the teeth 16 extend beyond the plane of the inner edge ofthe portion .11 so as to form a positive engagement with the pipe, as isalso the case with the teeth 23 and 24h While in all cases it may not benecessary, it is preferred that the arcuate length of the portion '11between the teeth 16 and the pivotal point 17 be suiiicient to extendslightly more than half way around the pipe 1%, so that when the partsare moved to the position shown in Fig. 2, to turn the pipe in thedirection indicated, the teeth '23 will be substantially diametricallyopposite the teeth 16, thereby insuring a positive clamping pipe. I

Thus it will be seen that I have produced a tool which, in operation,may be held in one hand of a worlrman, to engage a suspended pipesectionnormally out 01 his reach by the portion 11 to draw or swing itinto standing position,back of the linger, at the same time moving thehandle .portion 10 to the right or left to rotate the pipe to bring theelevator into proper po-' sition ior releasement.

. "While I have shownand described thev preferred embodiment of myinvention. it is nevertheless L0 be understood that I reserve therightto make any changes or modifications in structure which properlycome within the scope of the appended engagement with the claims.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. In a device oi the characterdescribed,

a handle; a pipe embracing member pivot in a direction generally thesame as the circumferential extent or the pipe embracing member at thepivot, and having teeth onits inner edge that face the teeth on the"other end of the pipe embracing member, said teeth on said edge beinglocated near the end of the handlemember at one side of the pivot andalso onsaid edge at the other side of the pivot, all of said teethbe'ing removed from the teeth on-the pipe embracing member by a distancesubstantially not less than half a circumference.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethisv 9th day'of March, 1921,

LELAND SQ HAMER.

Witness? VIRGINIA BERINGER.

